Simon John Birmingham (born 14 June 1974) is an Australian politician who has been a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

since 2007. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, he served in the

Morrison Government The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...

Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

from 2020 to 2022 and as

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment The Minister for Trade and Tourism is a portfolio in the Government of Australia, falling within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The position is currently held by Senator Don Farrell, sworn in as part of the Albanese ministr ...

from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as

Minister for Education and Training In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Education administers the Department of Education. The position is held by Labor MP Jason Clare, following the Australian federal election in 2022. Portfolio scope The Minister is responsible f ...

in the Turnbull government from 2015 to 2018, and as a parliamentary secretary and assistant minister in the Abbott government. On 30 October 2020, Birmingham was sworn in as

and became Leader of the Government in the Senate following the resignation of

Mathias Cormann Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann (; ; born 20 September 1970) is a Belgian-born Australian politician and diplomat who currently serves as Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), having assumed the off ...

Early life and career

Birmingham grew up on his family's horse

agistment Agistment originally referred specifically to the proceeds of pasturage in the king's forests. To agist is, in English law, to take cattle to graze, in exchange for payment (derived from the Old English ''giste'', ''gite'', a "lying place"). H ...

property near

Gawler, South Australia Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...

. He was educated at

Gawler High School Gawler and District College is a public early learning centre and primary and secondary school located in the suburb of Evanston on the southern side of Gawler, north of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The colle ...

and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

; neither of his parents had attended university. He has cited his grandmother Madge Herde, a school principal, as a key influence in his decision to enter politics. Birmingham was named South Australia's

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

Youth of the Year in 1992 and awarded the Town of

Gawler Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...

's Australia Day Young Citizen of the Year Award in 1993. He commenced studying an economics degree, but left his course to work for Senator Robert Hill. He later returned to study and completed a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the Adelaide Graduate School of Business,

. He began his career working as an electorate officer for Senator Robert Hill. In 1997 Birmingham moved from federal to state politics, working as a ministerial advisor to

Joan Hall Joan Lynette Hall ( née Bullock) (born 22 December 1946) is a former member of the South Australian House of Assembly, serving in the electoral district of Coles from 1993 to 2002 and the renamed electoral district of Morialta from 2002 to ...

. Early in 2000 Birmingham moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

to become the national manager of public affairs for the

Australian Hotels Association The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) is a federation of not-for-profit employer associations in the hotel and hospitality industry, registered under the Fair Work Act and respective State Laws. The AHA's role is to further and protect the inte ...

. In late 2001, Birmingham was appointed chief of staff to the South Australian state minister for tourism and innovation,

Martin Hamilton-Smith Martin Leslie James Hamilton-Smith (born 1 December 1953) is a former Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Waite from the 1997 election until his retirement in 2018. First elected as a candidate ...

. Following a change of government in 2002, Birmingham began work with the Winemakers' Federation of Australia where he remained until his appointment to the Senate in 2007.

Political career

At the age of 29, Birmingham won Liberal Party preselection for the marginal seat of Hindmarsh at the 2004 federal election following the retirement of sitting member

Chris Gallus Christine Ann Gallus (born 6 April 1943) is a former Australian politician who served as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2004, representing two different seats in South Australia—the Division of Hawker ...

. The seat was narrowly won by Labor's Steve Georganas. After an unsuccessful attempt to fill the vacancy created by Robert Hill's retirement from the Senate in 2006, Birmingham won Liberal Party preselection as a Senate candidate in 2007 federal election and was elected for a six-year term. However, he entered the Senate earlier, being appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator

Jeannie Ferris Jeannie Margaret Ferris (née Whitlow; 14 March 1941 – 2 April 2007) was an Australian politician, lobbyist, journalist, and Liberal Senator for South Australia. Early life Ferris was born in Auckland, New Zealand. She was educated at Monash ...

. At the time of his appointment on 3 May 2007, Birmingham was the youngest member of the Australian Senate. He is identified with the moderate wing of the Liberal Party. Birmingham served on Senate Environment, Communications, and Arts Committees from May 2007 to February 2010, the Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network as well as the

Joint Standing Committee on Treaties The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...

from 2007 to September 2012. He was also the Chair of the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee (from September 2012), the Deputy Chair of the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee (from September 2012), a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (from February 2008) and a member of the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network (from March 2011). Birmingham is also deputy chair of the Parliamentary Association for

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

. Birmingham has a keen interest in water issues including the health and future of the Murray Darling Basin, and in December 2008 introduced a Private Member's Bill, ''The Water Amendment (Saving the Goulburn and Murray Rivers) Bill 2008''. In December 2009 Birmingham was appointed to the Coalition frontbench as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Action. After the 2010 election he was re-appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin and appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. He also represented the Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband, Hon

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

, in the Senate.

Ministerial appointments

Following the 2013 federal election, Birmingham served in the Abbott Ministry as a parliamentary secretary to the Minister for the Environment and from September 2013 until December 2014; when he was appointed as the Assistant Minister for Education and Training. He became the Minister for Education and Training in the

First Turnbull Ministry The first Turnbull ministry (Liberal–National Coalition) was the 69th ministry of the Government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. It succeeded the Abbott ministry after a leadership spill that took place on 14 September ...

following the

Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill, September 2015 A motion seeking a leadership spill of the federal parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and Prime Minister was proposed by Malcolm Turnbull, who requested the ballot on 14 September 2015. The incumbent Prime Minister, Tony Abbo ...

. Upon the installment of the Morrison Ministry in August 2018, he became the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. On 30 October 2020, Birmingham was further appointed as Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister for Finance.

Political views

Birmingham is a member of the moderate or liberal wing of the Liberal Party, and was regarded as a key backer of Malcolm Turnbull in the 2015 leadership contest. According to Andrew Tillett, writing in ''

The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

'' in August 2019, the retirement of

Christopher Pyne Christopher Maurice Pyne (born 13 August 1967) is a retired Australian politician. As a member of the Liberal Party, he held several ministerial positions in the Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments, and served as a member of p ...

saw Birmingham "assume the mantle as the most senior moderate" in the party. According to ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', Birmingham is the leader of the Moderate/Modern Liberal faction of the Liberal Party.

Personal life

Birmingham is married to his former campaign manager Courtney Morcombe, who is the chief of staff to former South Australian premier Steven Marshall. The couple have two daughters. In a 2013 survey of Australian federal politics, Birmingham was one of only four MPs and senators to publicly identify as atheist.

References

External links

Senator Birmingham's Official WebsiteSummary of parliamentary voting for Senator Simon Birmingham on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birmingham, Simon 1974 births Abbott Government Government ministers of Australia Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Members of the Cabinet of Australia Politicians from Adelaide Turnbull Government University of Adelaide alumni 21st-century Australian politicians Morrison Government